Problem with my HEAD-er

I have migraine for the longest time but this time its not my "head" that is giving me headaches but my header (look up, yup, that's it!). :) I made it in Photoshop 1280x250 but it seems like it has a mind of its own! Its still small. I tried changing the template but it became worse - it was on the left side na while last night it was at the center. Waaahhhhh!!!!! My friend Diane already tweaked it but its still the same.

I know..."don't sweat the small stuff" but the OC in me.....aaagghh! Anyway, I'll leave it as is for now while I continue to work on some creative (hay salamat!) stuff due TODAY! I managed to finish 3 cards last night but I still 4 more to go & layouts. I feel like my scrapping mojo is coming back but with my folks flying in on Friday, I will have to shelve my scrapping chuvaness for a while to spend time with them.

5 more days before Christmas!!!!!

Happy Holidays!!!!

I know, I know. I've been missing in action! Hay! Lots of things happened for the past months. Will update very soon. Still have 2 more projects to finish plus my GDT assignment! waaahhh!!!! I can't find my scrapping mojo :( Can you tell me where to get it????

Be back....my kids are calling me for lunch!

I've been Tagged by Marj!

Instructions: Each player starts with 7 random habits/facts about themselves. People who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their seven things, as well as these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose 7 people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog!

7 random facts about me:

1. i am addicted to Coke - when I'm all stressed out, just a glass of Coke is enough to relax me :) 2. i am chocoholic - i need a dessert to complete my meal
3. i am a jack-of-all-trades kind of girl, i know how to troubleshoot computers, a bit of plumbing, carpentry, gardening, cross-stitch, all sorts, but master of none! hehe
4. i'm a speed-demon when I drive alone ;)
5. i am scared of Darth Vader & almost all mascots especially if they come near me
6. i believe I will see all my dead dogs when I die (that is, if I go to heaven! haha)
7. i rarely wear dress/skirts. i always wear flip-flops!


A - Age: 33
B - Band Listening To Right Now: I'm a 98 degrees fan :)
C - Career: I never got to work for others. My first business was a computer/desktop publishing shop
D - Drink or Smoke: Drink occasionally, smoke - NEVER
E - Easiest Friends To Talk To: next to DH, Tin
G - Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms: Gummy bears
H - Have a Boyfriend: i have a husband
I - In love still...
J - Junk Food You Like: Doritos with salsa
K - Kids: 2
L - Longest Ride Ever: Manila to Los Angeles (12 hrs)
N - Names For Your Future Kids: we're done!
O - One Wish You Have Now: win a lotto :)
P - Phobias: I'm claustrophobic...
Q - Favorite Quote: Life is too short, make it meaningful !
R - Reasons To Smile: my kids, my family
S - Sleeping Hours: 12am-8am
T - Time You Woke Up: 10am (I'm not feeling well)
U - Unknown Fact About You: i still eat Cerelac wheat up to this day!
V - Vegetable You Hate: okra
W - Worst Habit: procrastination
X - X-rays You’ve Had: Chest, Cervical Spine, MRI (head)
Y - Yummy Foods: buttered shrimps, crispy chili crabs, chocolates, Noni's biscotti!
Z - Zodiac Sign: Aries

Consider yourself tagged as well if you want to share some facts about you! Thanks Marj!

I CONFESS - a mini album workshop

Last Scrapfest, I was able to finish a mini album during the workshop. It was fun. We were able to use different techniques. It was only now that I had the time to post it coz I am busy for the past weeks. Now that Bad Girls Top Designer Contest is over - by the way, I only made it to Class 5, out of 6 classes. It was a learning experience for me! I really learned a lot & churned out more layouts :) Anyway, back to this mini album, its a good thing Scrappin Moms came up with this kind of album coz I would have never thought of making one for myself if it weren't for them.

Today is BLOG ACTION DAY!

Last August, I stumbled upon a website about the environment - The Blog Action Day. Bloggers are encouraged to post a topic about the environment- whatever they want to discuss, off-topic or not. And since I am into handmade papers, I guess I have to do my part in educating people regarding the effects of using handmade papers to our environment & our people.

{TREE-FREE}

A big part of my passion using handmade paper invitations & other paper products is knowing that the medium I am using does not come from trees. It is actually called a tree-free paper. And we know that here in our country, deforestation is at an alarming rate. And we can see the effect of this when we have floods all over the cities & provinces when it rains (not even typhoon!)

Our Philippine handmade papers come from Abaca fibers, Cogon grasses (which is actually a waste grass) and other plants & fibers locally available. By not using trees to make papers, we help conserve them and this is what I always tell my clients. Somehow, many of them are clueless as to where handmade papers really come from. At least I get to share with them the reason why I am pursuing to promote our handmade papers.

Commercial papers are made from trees, if not 100%, at least some of them have some "post-consumer" components (from recycled papers), but STILL they have TREES as their "ingredient". It is my hope that soon paper manufacturers will only use recycled papers and/or natural fibers (except trees) so we will not bald mountains & flashfloods.

By the way, handmade papers are different from recycled papers. At least our handmade papers come from different fibers but not from used papers. When we say handmade, the process is done by hand, sheet per sheet, with the use of mould and deckle, hand-embedded with flowers, leaves, capiz & other components. Whereas recycled paper comes from used papers and mostly machine-processed.

{ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY PROCESSING}

The process of making our handmade papers are done without sacrificing the environment. No chemicals are used to harm the environment and there is a proper waste disposal. This is what differentiates it from machine-processed papers.

{LIVELIHOOD}

From former fisherfolks, the people who make our wonderful papers are now earning regularly (and fairly) making papers. Even the housewives are able to work as pressed flower designers in the comforts of their home while looking after the children.

We hope to continue operating as a socially responsible and harmonious business group that produces ecologically friendly and globally competitive handmade paper and related handicrafts. It is our vision to continuously pursue efforts for the improvement of the Filipino people within the framework of sustainable development.

Bad Girls Class 5 - Unity

I didn't expect that I will still be in Bad Girls Top Designer School. But I am happy that I am beginning to incorporate scrapbooking in my life weekly, if not daily. Here is my entry for this week. I don't expect to make it, but its enough for me to finally make a layout of some of my "reminders" to my kids and be able to submit my entry. For me, this is as important as winning. (although the goodies are too tempting! hehe)

Here are more detailed pics of my layout:

For the journaling, oh, this is kinda long. If you can bear with me, read on. If not, its ok. :) I had so much in my mind & heart to say to my kids and how WORDS really matter and so I was able to fill up the spaces with my journaling. It was spontaneous and I really like it when I am in the mood - I just keep on writing and the sticker words kinda fell into place.

EDITED: In my hurry to post my entry, I forgot to tell what the heck the photo of my kids is doing on my layout!! Those were the days when my kids are starting to write. My DD cannot spell yet that time, but she knows the first letters of our names and so she wrote VM *heart* LD which means Vcoy (DS) Mommy *love* Loui (she) Daddy! While my DS drew Mommy as wearing a towel! haha!

*****

Phew! This has been a real challenge to me - how to achieve unity on my layout! But the first thing that came to my mind when I saw the assignment, WORDS just kept popping in my head. I wanted my layout to be something my children will not just look at the past but also LEARN from us. And so, I used WORDS to unify my layout down to the journaling (literally & figuratively).

It was so timing that I just got a chalkboard patterned paper (Karen Foster) & the yellow CS matches the exact shade of the yellow border on my son's Sketcher. I used some accent of blue paint to unify my layout with the powder blue bed sheet.

I covered the chipboard letters with text patterned paper to unite with my layout & the title. Also, I'm very happy that some word stickers that I have for the longest time I was able to incorporate in my journaling.


JOURNALING ON TOP OF PAGE (sorry, kinda long):

(NOTE: WORDS IN ALL CAPS are STICKERS & RUB-ONS)

(on top of the layout) >>

In my life, I have seen how words affect our lives. From the time we learned to say "Mama" when we were babies to the more complex words we can learn from the dictionary, words are part of our everyday lives. We LEARN to express our emotions not just by LAUGHing or CRYing but we (give) put words on our FEELings. And sometimes these words can be misunderstood by some people & thus, can MAKE or BREAK relationships. That is why I try to live my life with a SENSE of responsibility for the words that I say in speaking my mind. I am not, rather, I should not be afraid to express myself but I also have to consider what my words will have an impact to the ones who hear or read them.


JOURNALING ON THE LEFT SIDE:

To MY CHILDREN: let this be a reminder to you - words are powerful but in expressing yourselves, you have the responsibility in everything you say. Words that have been said cannot be taken back once it has affected someone's feelings. So be careful in choosing your words. In as much as I want you to BE TRUE, be generous in praising others' works. Let them know how much you appreciate them... say it! Don't be afraid to say "I love you" to a person if you feel like saying it. But always BE REAL. I hope you will always REMEMBER this - mommy


Ooppps! I forgot to include my supplies list in the gallery!
Here it is: Bazzill yellow CS; Karen Foster Chalkboard patterned paper; Narratives by Karen Russel patterned paper by Creative Imaginations; Jenni Bowlin text PP (letters); Maya Road & 7 Gypsies chipboards, Urban Lily rub-ons, Creating Keepsakes word stickers; Making Memories acrylic paint (blue); pen, masking tape.


***** THANK YOU FOR BEARING WITH ME!!! *****

Scrapfest 4

Last Saturday, I attended Scrapfest 4. This was just my 2nd time (the first time was Scrapfest 1). I promised myself that I will spend this time just scrapping (& some shopping!) and not as a supplier. I wanted to ENJOY the day meeting fellow scrapbookers who I just know by names through our e-groups. Some of them I know personally but most I haven't met. And true enough, I had a wonderful time scrapping the day away.

Nice venue, good food, lots of suppliers with the latest goodies, goody bag from generous sponsors, lots of women who share the same passion. Scrappin Moms really did a GREAT JOB in organizing this event.

I was not able to get to have some chit-chat with most of them because we were all busy working on the mini book workshop and the layout challenge but I was able to enjoy the company of Jona, Celeste & Marjel, the latter is an expat from the Netherlands. My migraine has been bugging me the day before. I forgot to bring my medicine but only have my muscle relaxant med (for my C-spine). Its my only hope so I can really enjoy and participate in the workshop and challenge. But after the mini book workshop, I was exhausted and I felt like my brain couldn't think anymore. Plus, with the "my-not-so-cheerful-colors" of papers I got from the kit combined with my not-so-clear picture (i just converted it to B&W but did not adjust the levels so it was kinda dark), I decided I will just eat my snack and not join the challenge. I couldn't think of a design for my layout...nothing really comes out....

So, it was a 1 hour 15-minute challenge. The first half-an-hour, I just sat there, ate my snack and look around my seatmates. I told myself, "just enjoy the day, don't pressure myself, just play". But then after I finished my snack, I couldn't help but do something...seeing my seatmates busy working on their layouts, I convinced myself to try. At least, just have fun and PLAY! And so I did! Then ideas started to pop... a bit of paper here, some paint there, add some blings, journal! Whoa! I'm done! I'm happy and that's what matters. I finally put into writing my thoughts about my picture. These thoughts I had even before the challenge only I have a lot of excuses not to scrap it but instead, my family's pictures.

I didn't expect that I'll get the 3rd place for advanced division. Everyone made a beautiful layouts! When I saw theirs, I wanted to get my entry and submit to the beginners' division! I felt mine was so simple, not much techniques (was there??!) but on the other hand, I'm happy I finished my layout and I've said my piece. When Liza called my name, it took a few seconds to sink in...but I am thankful for the judges who "looked into" my layout. For I made it not to win challenge, but to express the thoughts I have in my mind these days and a reminder of the path I have yet to take....

Journaling:

This is all I can say if I'd be asked about my shining moment! This picture reminds me (from) of everything that I've been through in life. And yes, I've come a long way. I see myself as a traveler in life's journeys... my journey - and that I have a long road ahead of me. Each day brings new challenges and everytime I go through them - I may succeed or fail - but the fact that I get up and face each new day with hope and courage, for me, that is my shining moment. Long way from the past, long way ahead, easy or difficult, good or bad times, this picture will always remind me to move forward!

** Will finally get post my Scrappin Moms' Idol Contest entries. Will upload it tomorrow. Have to finish some "real" work here. :)

Overcoming water[color pencils]...

I recently bought a set of watercolor pencils. I've been wanting to try it a few years back (I used to paint in watercolor) but what keeps me from buying it is that I don't like color pencils! It takes so much time and hand effort to color a single area! My wrist just cannot take the long repetitive process of shading anymore. But when I saw some layouts using it, I thought, hey, maybe I can try it, even for once. Anyway, I have my DD who's very much willing to use it since she's in color pencils since she was 3.

So I just grabbed a single photo of my DD, drew some flowers & swirls and just outlined them with watercolor pencils. I then used a fine tip paintbrush with a little bit of water. Whoa! I like it! :) I'm sure my DD will love it to bits! :) Its not as messy as watercolors and you can achieve different levels of shading in an area. And the finish product - much like a real watercolor art!

This is an 8"x8" layout. Just simple but with all the hopes and wishes for my Darling Daughter and a remembrance of her Mommy's first try at watercolor pencil! :)

Bad Girls - Class 4

Hay! I'm still having second thoughts on what to submit for this class! But my *heart* really beats for this one. Even my DH likes it and so I took it as a sign that this is the one! :) Well, I hope I make it but if not, it is OK. I enjoyed the process and what could be better than having created quite a number of layouts for my family this 2007! (the most I have done since scrapping in 2002!)

******
When I encountered this lesson in white space, for me, it means a clean, uncluttered look. I wanted to achieve that in my b&w photos so I decided to work on a white background and red accents. I also wanted to create something "different" and not just a single photo on the lower right corner. I challenged myself in doing multiple photos and placed them at the center of my page.

To avoid making the layout boring, I added hand-stitching was done for the red cord to add some texture. This is also signifies the "bond" among us and that's what "family" means. Rub-ons were used for the title & text. Brads were used to create a "bulleted list". The red wooden heart was used to add dimension and focal point.

I am having second thoughts on submitting this as I have done another layout but when my DH saw it, he said he likes it among the other layouts I have made! And so, this is for him!

*****

Now I must finish my drafts & designs before I pack my stuff for Scrapfest 4!!!

Busy...

Wow! This week is really going fast! So fast I could hardly catch up...with designs & drafts for my clients, Bad Girls assigment and Scrapfest! But I wouldn't have it the other way since I love what I am doing even if it means late nights, pain on my (r) wrist, I love creating something new everyday.

No photos to upload yet for this post. They are still on my camera waiting for me to resize it after posting this entry. Just want to drop by my blog and let you know that I will be posting some works very soon...

For now, let me share with you a quote from one of my favorite designers, Rhonna Farrer. She is AMAZING and I get a lot of inspiration from her and her works of art.

Hope you'll be inspired, too! :)

Bad Girls -Class 3

Along with fellow Pinay scrappers, I made it to Class 3 of Bad Girls Design School. This week's lesson is about Design Elements.

I chose direction-oblique as my element on my layout to show Vcoy's neck mimicking the swan's. I used BIG chipboard SWIRLS to complement the BIG PICTURE of Vcoy and to lead the direction to my layout's title BEAUTY then towards the picture then down to the (hidden) journaling.

I used WHITE as my color (the black border is not included on the layout) because Vcoy's shirt matches the swan and I find his facial expression as innocent-looking...so pure...beautiful, hence the title.

The pull-out journaling further moves the direction downwards to the stamped swirls.

The Flipside of Me

Last Friday night, I wanted to just "play". So I pulled out my recent photos from our Ilocos trip and made a quick layout. I wanted to document these pictures (though I've been having second thoughts of posting these! hehe) for my kids to see me - not just their mother, but as a person - a normal person who can be flip sometimes (or should I say, most of the times!)...that IT IS OK to be yourself even if you look funny! My kids laughed (ewan ko kung pang-asar yung tawa nila kasi tawang-tawa talaga sila sa akin, knowing Loui, my 5-year old daughter, she has this laughter that will tell you that you REALLY are FUNNY!) when I showed them the finished layout. "Mommy is so funny!" (with matching tawa yan ha!). Suddenly, I began to think "did I made the right decision???? -to make that layout in the first place, then second, to show it to them????" Oh well, I guess, my layout was effective, coz my children saw me on that layout and that is how I want them to remember me.

Wide Eyed Wonder

I passed the 1st class of Bad Girls so I'm off to Class 2: Texture and Dimension given by our "teacher", a good friend, Iris Uy.

Phew! This class made me do handstitching again after almost 20 years! For this layout, I used the pictures I took of my newest nephew, Patrick. He's sooo adorable and his eyes are cute as a button! Good thing the materials I already have in my stash matched Patrick's jeans & checkered shirt.

For texture: I used a tag with fabric; added a lace on the flower chipboard & ribbons on tag & as photo corner; embossed the " flower stem"; used a denim pocket of my daughter's old pants (to mimic Patrick's pants)

For dimension: I used buttons, mini wooden clothes peg, chipboard flower & "stem", sewing on doodles then mounting with foam squares; cut out circles on PPs then mount with glue dots; made a transparency frame with acrylic paint on edges. *** Also, I intended to let the flower "hang over" the edge of the paper coz for me, scrapbooking should not really be limited to just 12"x12" or squares or straights...it should be whatever your heart desires! :)

Journaling (on tag inside the denim pocket): Patrick, The first time I saw you, I fell in love with your "cute-as-a-button" eyes! Love you! - Tita

Whoohoo!!!!

Yessss!!!!! After 5 years, I have finally uploaded my new website after the failed attempt weeks ago! Though I still have 3 more galleries to do in a couple of days, I decided to upload it to "test" if I really got it correct this time.

May I invite you to come over and "tour" our new store. Comments and suggestions are most welcome. :)

Will upload more photos & products next week. Got to get some rest now...

Happy weekend!

Our ^Everyday^ Story

I'm on a creative roll! Thanks to all those challenges & gorgeous layouts my scrapping friends are churning week per week! Its enough for me to get my mojo back and work on my pictures waiting to be scrapped. Besides, I owe my parents years of pictures of their apo's and so when I had our pictures printed, I intended to send them some random shots of our everyday life.

I'm so loving the 1.5" square pics that I did in Photoshop. A 4R size picture has actually 6 pictures in it! Cheaper huh! :) And the size is just right if you are making a mini album.

Here are some shots of the mini album from 7 Gypsies that I took today. It took me 1 night and half-day to finish it. That is just right for me. I like projects that don't take much time to finish coz they take out the fun in it (in my case)!


You can check out the complete book here.

My website update: yes, I'm working on it the whole day! I'm crossing my fingers and hopefully I get to upload my new website tonight when hubby comes home (I need his technical expertise on this err, someone who will wait for the files to upload while I watch muna! hehe)

Bad Girls Top Designer - Color Theory

After being eliminated at the Scrappin Moms Idol (I was not able to submit a layout last week coz we were in the hospital), I wanted to continue making at least 1 layout per week. I think I'm better when I have a deadline to meet! hehehe. So I joined Bad Girls Top Designer contest. It is like a class where there is a lesson to learn per week and assignment to submit. There will also be "suspensions" (eliminations) every week so I don't know how long will I be in the class! A LOT of beautiful layouts from all over the world, I feel like my layout is sooo simple! But I'm happy coz I'm being productive again in terms for scrapping. (My bad...I was not able to work on my website today, yay!)

Here's my "Alike" layout. I love this picture of Loui. At an early age (1 y/o), she is quirky! She shows signs of Airees-in-the-making! hehehe. I used red because of the bandana she was wearing. I don't know why I'm into reds lately. Maybe it was one of my entries for the Scrappin Moms Idol where I used red as my color.

I managed to work on a mini book (yes!) tonight but I still have to work on my journaling tomorrow. Will send this to my parents as a gift. Guess what color? Red pa din! I just love the vintage look of Jenni Bowlin papers I got from Scrapbukan, I end up using it in all of my layouts lately!

Journaling: "Hmm....a lot of people always tell me that I look a lot my mom when she was younger... "Little Airees" they say. I guess I am. We are both quirky not to mention we are both clumsy! (look at my chin!) But most of all, me & my mom are alike not just on the looks, but also our love for art."

Materials used: Bazzill cardstock (red & beige); Urban Lily patterned paper (flower), Jenni Bowlin (text background); Colorbok vintage alpha stickers; Autumn leaves buttons; Maya Road chipboard (a); Making Memories red acrylic paint; Versacolor inkpad; embossing powder; photo turns with brads (unbranded); miscellaneous ribbon; pen, adhesive & foam squares.

Recent upload on MyScrapworks.com

Mabelle and the team of MyScrapworks recently uploaded new articles for the site. May I invite you to come and visit us. And while you're there, please take a look at my new Trash-to-Treasure project.

Oh, and I get to "play" with acrylic sheets this time courtesy of M. The first project was to make a layout using a 12"x12" acrylic sheet. This was challenging for me since I haven't really tried working on transparencies what more on acrylic! Besides, I'm afraid I'd mess up the layout and it will really become very obvious!! :) But in the end, I loved how it turned out. The acrylic sheet is thick enough to hold your embellies unlike transparencies.

The 2nd project was a 3-panel 6"x6" acrylic sheets. Now, this one really cracked my brain! I've been planning to try working on minis but when I am faced with the actual size, I can't do it! I feel so claustrophobic that I end up putting all my materials back to my "to-do later" box! But this time, I cannot, since I already gave M my word that I will do this. :) It turned out good but now I realized maybe I should have put more cute rub-ons to enhance the pages but I am just starting my love affair for rub-ons so I only have a few. Maybe another acrylic mini book is needed for me to clearly see the beauty of this material with rub-ons, acrylic paints & stamps! Go ahead and try for yourself! You've got nothing to hide!

New Week, New Look

First of all, I would like to THANK everyone who emailed & SMSd me, left a message on my cbox wishing me and my family well. Salamat po! Your prayers have helped us to recover faster.

We had such a challenging week last week. I don't want to say "bad" week for I believe that we all have to go through life's lessons. I am just happy to say that we are on our road to recovery especially my son.

And so I decided to change the look of my blog by upgrading to a "drag & drop" editing rather than HTML coding! I have been wondering for quite some time how my blogger friends easily add links & other stuff on their blogs while I, on the other hand, can't figure it out! Duh????!!! This is still a work in progress though. I still have my own website to upload very soon.

For now, I just posted to let you know that I'm still ALIVE! Haha! Lots of emails to reply, layout to finish and website to work on. A very busy week ahead.....

Advisory

Everyone in our household are caught with a nasty flu virus last weekend. I advised my staff not to report for work so as not to spread the virus to their own household. My son and I are having a bad case of asthma attack and we are on our way to confine him to the hospital. I just hope my pulmonologist will not advise me to be confined as well.

Goodbye to Round 4 of Scrappin Moms idol. I cannot make it to this round as the remaining strength I have right now is only enough for the needs of my sick children and husband. Goodluck to everyone! Please pray for our fast recovery. Thank you in advance.

airees

Of cupcakes and Smartbro

I made this birthday invite for a friend on her birthday next month. I'm into cupcakes lately and I love Andrea Victoria's Cupcake Princess digital kit. I love how the browns and pinks look great when combined. Yummy! Makes me want rush to the nearest Go Nuts Donuts for their oh so delicious cupcakes! :)

On a sadder note, Smartbro sent us 2 repairmen to replace our antennae in the hope that our internet connection will go back to normal speed (when I say normal speed, it is by third world country standards!) In the end, the same repairmen told us to just switch to PLDT dsl or any DSL provider since there's nothing they can do with our speed - it is Smart's cellsite that has the problem - OVERLOADING. It can just accommodate up to 40 Smartbro subscribers but at the rate of their new installations is going, this will really be the case. Huuwhaaaatttt??? So it means that if I stick with Smartbro, I'll be paying Php988 for a connection speed of 53kbps???!!!!! Now, that is what I call CHEATING THE CUSTOMERS! Goodness!

Haaay, sorry for venting... but I just have to let this out or else....baka isang araw na lang pasabugin ko cellsite nila! ;)

My mojo is back!

No, I don't have a Chiuaua just like Sam Witwicky. My mojo in scrapbooking is finally back! I made 2 layouts this week and 1 mini album but I cannot show them here yet.

The first layout is for Round 2 of Scrappin' Moms Idol Challenge. The 2nd layout and mini album will be uploaded soon. By the way, I made it in Round 2 and off to Round 3! I just hope I'll have enough powers for this round coz I'm having sleepless nights thinking of what to do next. And if ever I get to sleep, its still in my dreams!!! Waaahhh!!!

Some of you may not understand what I'm talking about but for a scrapper like me, I make sense! haha! I better start my entry for Round 3 today so I can get it off my mind for next weekend's Wedding Expo at the PICC Forum. Next week will be invite designs & website. I enjoy doing weekly challenges even if sometimes it really cracks up my brain & nearly gives me nosebleeds! It makes my (scrapping) life more exciting!

Ok, back to work....Happy Friday to everyone. Long weekend so have fun creating memories!

-airees-

Not too SMART...

Haay! Its been 2 weeks since we started experiencing sloooooooowww connection from SmartBro! I already called their customer care hotline but our connection is still the same. Image, 53kbps???? Hello????!!!!

To add insult to the injury, I had NO MORE connection for the last 2 days! When I called up their hotline, no one answers and its just their irritating background music that will keep you company until your phone bill shoots up!

So why am I here posting??? I just found out that the cable connecting tot he antenna was disconnected! I remembered hubby mentioned that when he and Loui went outside to close the windows, she got tangled with the cable.

I have connection now but still 53kbps!!! My goodness! It will take me ages to upload pics to my clients, my family plus the fact that we are paying almost 1 thousand a month for a slower-than-dial-up speed, THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!

Can anyone recommend a "better" provider??? :(

Just a couple of new creations...

I have been busy with scrapping for the past 2 weeks but that does not mean I was not "working" on my hobby-business. :)

I am now beginning to realize that it is worth my investment the machine cutter I bought early this year. We have a fast turn-around time in our production not to mention we have streamlined most of our processes, from paper inventory to assembly. The only thing I was not able to do this week is to continue my website. I did some tweaking on the graphics & most of the pages are now in their "correct" size and format. My target this week is to work on the gallery and I am ready for the upload. That is.... I have to finish my article and layouts for this week's challenge! :)

Meanwhile, here are some snippets of the invites that we made this week:



Today is family day and some girl bonding with my friends. Will be back tomorrow (and back to work even if tomorrow's a non-working holiday. yeah, that's how it is when you are self-employed! ha!)

Round 2

Yesss!!! I made it to Scrappin Mom's Idol Round 1!

Whew! It was really a challenge for me - making a layout with just cardstocks and no patterned paper! But honestly, I really thought I am not gonna make it coz all the other contestants are REALLY GOOD, AS IN!

But this is the beauty of challenges - they make you think outside the box! For me, I am being productive, scrapbooking-wise. :) But of course, my other creative "job" (if you can call it a job, for me, its passion and still is) comes first. At least, I have another creative outlet when my brain gets tired of designing invites, I can redirect my thoughts in preserving my family's history. Talk about hitting 2 birds with one stone. :) I love this hobby!

But the EXCITING part was when I checked my email, I was surprised to see some girls congratulating me! "For what?", I thought so.... So when I opened the emails - Wow! I was the Joy Uzarraga's (guest judge) Pick of the Week! What really touched me was her comments and reason why she picked my layout. She took time to read my journaling & she got my "reason" behind that cherry blossom tree I made. Thank you, Joy!

So, 27 of us are off to Round 2. This week the challenge is to just use 1 color on the layout - be it carstock, patterned paper, embellishment, paint, etc.! Wow! Will I survive this round??? I don't know. I feel like my nose will bleed as I think of what to do on this round. haha! :)

Meanwhile, I would like to share with you another layout I made after my Scrappin Moms Idol entry. I promised myself to make at least 2 LOs everytime I pull out my scrap stuff and make a mess, para sulit ang pagkakalat! haha!

Lastly, thanks to Alby for nominating me for this:

Just as the rain...

starts pouring in, my creative juices start flowing in, too! Thanks to the encouragement of friends and a challenge I am slowly getting my groove back. If not for hobby-biz, I will still be scrapping today, haha! But I also need to take care of my biz because it supports my scrapbooking & the people working with me.

I managed to finish my entry for the Scrappin Mom's Idol contest 1.5 hrs before the deadline. I guess my brain works faster and efficiently when there is a deadline! hehe. After uploading my simple layout (this is all I can squeeze from my brain!), my office is a mess - lots of stuff lying around, strips of paper, adhesives, ribbons! Haay!!! All this mess for just 1 layout???!!! So, I decided, I'll take the day off from work and just scrap 1 more or even 2 para sulit naman yung kalat ko! Maybe this is one thing that keeps me from scrapping - I hate cleaning the mess, putting back my stuff to their places. If only I can just leave all my stuff as is without having to worry about my kids messing up with my scissors, adhesives, papers....haaayyyy, I can scrap anytime the creative juice kicks in!

And so I made another layout - pics from my kids' Halloween Party in school last year. I got to use my supplies that have been there for quite some time. I only noticed that the sticker border is shorter than 12"! Nah, forget the OC-ness! My kids are happy when they saw the layout and to me that is the BEST PART of all!

A BIG THANK YOU to all who emailed me, left msg on cbox & gallery for encouraging me to scrapbook and continue working on my website. Salamat po!!!

And how about my website???? I didn't work on it since last Saturday (went out of town with hubby & friends for 3 days) and have not touched it since then. That is why I scrapbooked - to take a break from what happened and to recharge. But I'm not giving up...will work on it again soon.. no one else will do it for me anyway. :)

I wanted to cry.......

In fact, I am sobbing as I type this blog. :( huhuhu... After working on about 28 pages and 6 days, I just found out I made a terrible mistake on my website!!! I used layers instead of tables and now I had to resize almost everything, reposition and tons of copy/pasting to do to display it correctly. Most of the pages were not done from templates so I have to edit it one by one.... I feel so stupid but what can I do? I took up a 2-day Dreamweaver course 5 years ago and just "re-learned" it last week? waaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! yoko na!!!!

So I guess I won't be uploading my new site tomorrow....its impossible for me unless I plan to kill myself. Sorry.....

:(

After 5 years...

I will finally be uploading my new website this week!

It took me a long time to decide whether to have it done by someone else or not. I've inquired some web designers in the past but I'm afraid I will just give them headache because of my ever-changing concept for my site. Believe me, every year, I come up with a new design for my website, make a few pages but never got to upload it! Its like, I wanted to have this and that feature but I end up with the same website. Then I realized its like scrapbooking - its impossible for me to have my scrapbooks done by someone else! (and hubby agrees! :) )

Finally, I decided I needed to do something about it, right here, right now. So last Friday, July 27, I started working 12 hours straight doing my first few pages. I like the design better - simpler and more manageable.

Take a peek of my home page. I will upload it (finish or not finish, pass your papers!) by Friday, August 3.

So this is what keeps me quiet these days...no scrapping, no Monday mosaic. I am dead serious on finally uploading my website. :)

Monday Mosaic

I'm back with my Monday Mosaic. Been busy for the past week with drafts & designs...busy and tired but I felt productive...just don't ask me about my scrapbooking! Zero, wah, nadah. :(

Have you realized that July is almost over and just one month and it will be the start of "ber" months??? Next thing you know 2007 is over. So far, what have you accomplished or for the past 7 months? :)

(Top-bottom, left-right)

Row #1

(1) Going through some paper samples sent to me by Kichi Inc. who I met at the National Stationery Show. They've got really nice printed Japanese papers :); (2) Tried a contemporary design for a Save-the-Date card for a client. This is not digital though - layers of handmade paper & photo; (3) Our new product offering for give-aways: digitally-designed handmade ref magnets - I combined digital design with handmade materials to come up with a small but useful give-away for any occasion...one that will not gather dust in your home. ;) (4) New sample for a client with additional translucent vellum overlay

Row #2

(5 & 6) Finished invites for a client and now ready for delivery; (7) Invitation design for an 80th Birthday for a new client; (8) Bought myself Bob Ong's 2nd book - "Bakit Baliktad Magbasa ng Libro ang mga Pilipino" - spent my Sunday afternoon laughing out loud till my abs tightened! Such a good book with lots of (common) sense for every Pinoy! :)

Row #3

(9) Got my Dud a copy of (again) Bob Ong's 1st book A B N K K B S N P L Ako! I'm sure he'll have loads of fun reading this hilarious-but-with-sense book. (10-12) Some pictures taken last Saturday at Serendra, Fort Bonifacio. Its our first time to there and we tried Cupcakes by Sonja. For me, it was a bit sweeter than Magnolia Bakery in New York City where Sonja apparently worked and got the idea.

Row #4

(13) Got 2 new magazines to read this week! Haay! Kelan kaya ako makakapag-scrapbook????!!!! (14) I read Pottery Barn's catalog which I got last April for some ideas on our new booth design for Wedding Expo Phils. in September. Eye candy! (15) Made some sketches for our booth at the Wedding Expo. Now I need to find someone who will make this into reality! (16) I bought a shirt & blouse at Just G. & Penshoppe last week and their tags caught my eye. Cute color combos and I like the texture of the Penshoppe tag. Lately I noticed my mug beside my printer is overflowing with tags of shirts, blouses, & pants that I bought for the past months! I'm thinking of making a mini album for these. :)

That's it, pansit! :)

Have a great week ahead of you!

No Monday Mosaic this week...

Been busy for the past days, replying to my email backlogs and designing.

A funny conversation between my 2 kids while playing spiderman game on the internet last Sunday:

coy: "How do you do that???" (tells my 6 y/o son to my 5 y/o daughter)

lui: "You just ipit it! You know, ipit the keyboard!!

Filipino: Ipit (in English = press)

Haha! :)

On Autumn and Aging

While I was taking a picture of a new design for my client, I noticed the beauty of a pressed maple leaf that my Dud sent me from the States. You see, every fall season in the US, I ask my Dud to send me maple leaves (pressed between pages of a magazine) for my invitations! The first time he did that was when he was at Central Park in New York. He told me that he got some stares from the people around, maybe wondering if he's crazy or having Alzheimer's! I was touched by his experience because he did that for me even if people thought he was crazy. :) Behind that maple leaf, is my father's love for me and his support to my sometimes-crazy ideas.

But yesterday, a different thought crossed my mind. As I look at color of the maple leaf, I began to think about aging in people. Our youth is as vibrant as the green leaves of a maple tree in spring. But as we age, the color of our lives become richer just as the maple leaves turn to a shade of yellow to orange to brown and deep red. It may not be full of energy as the green leaf but the changing shades represent the phases in life that we go through.

By autumn, these leaves will eventually fall just like when we reach our old age, our body will deteriorate. But it doesn't end there...by this time, the color of a maple leaf is deeper and that makes autumn, autumn just as our lives are now richer, deeper and as colorful as the autumn leaves.

For May...

This is for you. I hope this helps. Amateur video courtesy of my nanny. :)

Tell me and I'll forget;

Show me and I may remember;

Involve me and I'll understand.

Chinese Proverb

Monday Mosaic

Happy Monday! Just want to share with you another mosaic I made today. I'm loving these mosaics coz it makes it easier for me to share snippets of my life through these pictures.

(Top to bottom, left to right):

(1) A draft of the invitation we are working on this week. Don't be deceived by the looks of this invite... "nakukulot ang buhok ko jan!" or lets just say, it is challenging. :);

(2) Sunday morning (July 8), I let Loui play on my laptop. I was browsing the MOMA site (Museum Of Modern Art) when she saw an interactive tour of the Museum. So I let her browse the site while I try to read. I was surprised when she showed me the "collage" she made! She spelled out her nickname "LOUI". I printed it right away and showed it to her dad. We were both amazed at how such a young age, she is showing signs of great interest in the arts. :)

(3) I managed to read 3 past issues of Creating Keepsakes that I haven't opened since May! Great stuff! Lots of inspiration! I'm having an inspiration overload! Now I really got to work on my scrapbook! So much backlog!

(4) Finally wrote my TO-DO list for the week (and month) on my "new" Starbucks planner. How can I resist buying this collectible for just Php150 even if its half of the year already?! Even my practical hubby also got one! Besides, an idea popped in today on what I can do with this planner that will last for a long time. ;)

(5) I'm soooo loving this site! Makes color combination so much easier!!! Eye candy, too! I'm beginning to think about what paints to use on our walls; the cardstocks that I'm going to use on my layouts. :)

(6) Started out this week with paying the bills. My mom used to remind us when we were young not to pay or shell out money on Mondays for some superstitious belief. But for me, its like making things right at the start of the week, don't you think? :) At least I got a rebate from Digitel. :)

(7) A friend commissioned me to dress up my kraft letters as a gift for her friend's son who will have a birthday party this coming weekend. Will post the finished product after.

(8) Made sketches for 2 new clients so I can finally make the samples for them plus the other one pending by tomorrow. Need to finish these by Tuesday.

(9) I gave Loui a new set of pastel pens for her Spray Art and she played with it this afternoon. I can see that she is becoming a freestyle artist. Way to go, Loui!

We ended that day watching the Transformers (again!) this time with the kids. I love Bumblebee & Optimus Prime! :)

That's it for now. Have to rest...tomorrow's a busy day for me.....

Checked!

This year I saw myself accomplishing a lot of my to-do's on my 101-things-to-do-before-i-die list. Its not that I am being morbid here (although I am!) but somehow the list keeps me focused on what I want to do in my life...how I want to live my life the way God intended me to be. Hindi po ako nagpapakabanal dito pero sa sarili ko, ito ang mga bagay na sa aking palagay ay magiging makabuluhan ang buhay ko. (In English: "I don't intend to be a candidate for sainthood but rather, this is what I think my life would be more meaningful.")

It's been a year since we last sorted our stuff (especially the kids' clothes, toys & some books) and packed them away for charity. I've been wanting to donate our stuff but I wanted to give them to an orphanage since I know the babies and kids will really need them.

When I came back from my trip, I promised myself that I will do it now - not next year, not when I have some spare time. Plus, I wanted my kids to learn at this age that it is OK to give and not always to receive and that they are blessed because they have parents and the orphans don't that is why we need to help them.

I learned somewhere that there is an orphanage in Tagaytay run by nuns. I just didn't know where. So I searched the internet and found an article by Ms. Deedee Sytangco about the Agustinian sisters that take care of abandoned babies. I emailed Ms. Sytangco and she gave me the contact person and number of the orphanage.

So I called up and got to talk with Sr. Carmen & Sr. Yoly and asked them if it is ok for them to accept donations like used clothes and toys. They said that I am very welcome to do so and they really appreciate it. So we scheduled our trip to Tagaytay this afternoon with 2 of my staff and my 2 kids. I briefed them earlier why are we going to the orphanage and asked if it is ok with them to give away their toys. They were excited!

We traveled through heavy rains & thunder! It was burning hot in Laguna when we left though. The sisters texted me to drive slowly and that they are praying for our safe trip. :) With that and my prayer before we left the house didn't leave a room for fear that something might happen to us.

We met Sr. Yoly and the 22 kids with ages ranging from 3 weeks old to 8 years old. They were already having early dinner then and some just arrived from a nearby public school. My eldest son shared his dinosaur book with the older girls while my little girl just kept quiet. I guess she was overwhelmed by the number of kids and she knows that they don't have parents. Maybe a lot of things are going on her mind so I just let her be.

Sr. Yoly shared bits of stories of how the kids end up in their care. One smaller-than-a-normal-2-yr.-old boy caught my attention. He was so small. Sr. told me that he is a son of a 12 year old girl! Whaaatt???? I cannot imagine how someone, not even a teenager, would bear a child. INCEST. I was shocked and I can't help but feel sorry for the girl and the baby boy.

Some of the kids were abandoned after birth in the hospitals, one was found by a streetsweeper along a sidewalk left alone by her parents, there were twins left by the parents who cannot feed them. A 7-month old boy is waiting for his mother to serve her sentence in correctional. These and some stories I only thought I'd only see in TV opened my eyes to reality.

We couldn't stay longer as it was getting foggy outside. My son wanted to play some more with the kids but I only told him we will come back again some other time. It was a short visit but it was meaningful in a lot of ways: I checked my list; my kids and staff were able to meet the kids and spent even just a little time with them; our stuff were put to good use rather than left in storage to rot; and just as we are blessed may we be a blessing to others as well. To whom much is given, much is expected.

Monday Mosaics

I'm starting the 2nd half of the year with Monday Mosaics - random photos that give a peek into my everyday life. I'll make this a weekly thing for me (hopefully!)


First 3 rows: some designs I finished last week for 6 clients. Last photo was taken this morning when we were packing the invites for delivery tomorrow.

Last row: I wanted to show my Dud how his orchids are "still alive" with beautiful flowers. 3rd pic are piles of cut-sized handmade papers ready for printing today. Last photo is my new "baby" - an HP Colored Laser printer - now we can print COLORED on translucent vellum!

Still got tons of work to do, my office is not that messy anymore but I still lack space for my stuff (I'm still working on it....). Zero scrapping activity....I'm soooo inspired with all the layouts of Iris, Pia, Ria, Cabbie and the rest of SE & PS scrapbookers but I just don't have the TIME right now. :(

I've been tagged!

Oooopps, Christine V. tagged me.

Here are the rules: Each player starts with 7 random facts about themselves on their Blog. People who are tagged need to blog 7 facts about themselves and post the rules as well. At the end of their blog list 7 people you are tagging. Let them know that they are tagged by leaving them a comment.

So here it is....7 Random Facts About Me

1. I cannot sleep unless the bed sheet is crisp, no wrinkles and tight-fit onto the bed.

2. I don't eat foods with ketchup and/or mayonnaise.

3. I practically live on Post-Its (and it should be the 3M brand of Post-Its) - they are my "expanded memory"!

4. When I was in 3rd year HS, I baked 1,000 pcs. of macaroons to supply the JS Prom in my mom's school. I bought my first Tretorn sneakers from the money I earned from that venture.

5. I am a rightie but I can only wash the dishes using my left hand to hold the sponge. Same with opening a Coke bottle.

6. I cannot swallow a pill or my vitamin supplements without any food (esp. chocolates).

7. I have a "101 things to-do-before-I-die list".

There you go.... I enjoyed reading other friends' random facts. I'm tagging Ria, Pia, Iris, Au, Donna, Joanne & Cabbie. I guess they have all been tagged already but it was fun getting to know a little bit of them. :)

I'm on a creative rut!

Been sluggish for the past days...with migraine attack & mounting (s)crap stuff in my office, my mind cannot work properly! With designs and proofs to submit to my clients, I need to find some "inspiration". But where???? I don't know. Tagaytay is always on my mind for the past days, I don't know why. I want to hike, run, walk, whatever! I miss my long, tiring walks in the streets of NY!


Anyway, its been a daily "ritual" for me to visit my favorite blogs especially Ali E. And this is what I learned from her: to make a mosaic. :)



Now, this makes me want to CREATE again.... Hopefully on my next blog entry, it will be an exciting one.

"Live life creatively."

Good to be back home...

I arrived safely on June 3, 530am via PAL. It was a long and tiring 15-hour journey but all worth it. Had interesting conversations with 2 of my "seatmates" during the flight. I believe all the people we meet everyday, even for just a few minutes or hours, are meant to leave a mark on usin one way or another...

Anyway, after 3 hours, I'm off to the 2nd day of Philippine Wedding Summit as an exhibitor. Rampa ano! Thanks to my ever-supportive husband & staff who took my place during the first day. The fair went well but really, I am dying to come home and take a rest! Around 5pm, I began to feel sleepy because of the change in my timezone but with my husband to keep me from sleeping, I finished the fair wide awake. haha!

I "declared" this week will be a "No Work" week! I want to spend some time with my kids especially that my daughter just turned 5 last June 5. But with all the unpacking and putting everything in its place, I think it became an unofficial work week instead!

But I'd like to take the last 3 days to slow down a bit...need some R&R to recharge and get back to the groove for we have lots of projects in the pipeline...need to do some overhauling in our systems and product development. So bear with me...will be back by next week.

I love this shot of a sample I made while in the US. I love how the stone served as a backdrop of my invitation.

It's Final.

We will be at the Philippine Wedding Summit on June 2-3, 2007 at the NBC Tent, The Fort. 10am-8pm

I will arrive from SFO on June 3 at 5 in the morning. I will be at the fair by Sunday. But on the first day, June 2, my staff and ever supportive husband will be there.

On-site booking will be accepted on both days but I suggest you book on the 2nd day so I can personally attend to your invite specs. We can always discuss the details even after the fair.

We are giving 20% discount for ON-SITE booking for 100pcs and above orders plus freebies. 10% for 50-99pcs. invitations and/or missalettes. We only require Php2,000 for the booking fee deductible on the balance.

We hope to see you there!

Event Update - Some changes....

There has been a change in our upcoming events. I decided to withdraw from the Philippine Wedding Summit due to our tight production schedule and my flight. We have to prioritize our production schedule and the quality of our products so we will be at the Wedding Expo Philippines September 2007 instead.

But we will be at the

SCRAPFEST on May 19, 2007 (10am - 5pm)

at the Makati Garden (along Pasig River - Guadalupe going to C5) by Scrappin' Moms

This is one event you cannot miss!

We will be selling our own line of Altering Items & Handmade Organizers such as kraft letters, accordion albums with matching boxes, photo cubes, flip-flops boxes, our Pampered Crafters (rotating tool caddy), 12x12 vertical paper holders, and handmade journals. Please see below: